Portland, Oregon, USA IS Weird!
Ranked #5,747 in Culture & Society, #122,927 overall
One of the (apparently) popular bumper stickers on the streets of Portland, Oregon is the one that states: "Keep Portland Weird"
Take my word for it!
PORTLAND, Oregon, is indeed already WEIRD.
AND to my way of thinking, Politically, Morally, Culturally, Legally, not in a good way!
You can go from the fact that the new openly gay Mayor lied (and then admitted he lied) to get in office by covering up an affair that he had with an intern and the entire city council has refused to require him to step down.
We can continue on this trip by reminding those who are not following the political goings-on as far as illegal immigration is concerned that the previous city administration thought it was a good idea to spend $210,00.00 tax payer dollars to set up a day labor center for illegals. You know, just like a temp agency that Portland has several hundred of?
I just wanted to get you started on this very weird, very liberal city.
Probably one of the best indicators that this city on the river is not really concerned about the people that actually live and work and pay in this city is the inability of the city council to realize that when they agree with the state that all of our cars SHOULD be charged a tax on Every Mile We Drive, they really don't have to spend the money that has been coming in from gas taxes (for the roads) filling in potholes in those same roads!
Portland has been enjoying the status of being very Green. Don't get me wrong, the city deserves any accolades for this distinction:
Without any VALID evidence for man-caused global warming, they have (almost) taken the lead in their zeal for destroying jobs, morale and common sense!
to be continued...
June 15, 2009:
I think you can probably tell a lot about our leadership (the city council) by who has left their ranks in recent years.
Earl (the bow tie) Blumenaur was elected to replace Ron Wyden when he was elected to the Senate.
Earl, another of the "We're all going to burn up in a fiery blaze' crowd thought that it was appropriate to introduce legislation (FEDERAL, of course) that 'allows' employers to pay their employs $20.00 per month if they travel 'a substantial portion' of the trip to/from work on their bicycles! I guess even the government doesn't have a potential $1,000.00 per month for some of the employers, here so, again, without ANY VALID evidence of Man-Caused global warming.... OR is it that the nanny-stater wants everybody to ride their bike to work to get more exercise? hummmmm.
Let's talk more about the others on the city council when I get back.
PORTLAND, Oregon, is indeed already WEIRD.
AND to my way of thinking, Politically, Morally, Culturally, Legally, not in a good way!
You can go from the fact that the new openly gay Mayor lied (and then admitted he lied) to get in office by covering up an affair that he had with an intern and the entire city council has refused to require him to step down.
We can continue on this trip by reminding those who are not following the political goings-on as far as illegal immigration is concerned that the previous city administration thought it was a good idea to spend $210,00.00 tax payer dollars to set up a day labor center for illegals. You know, just like a temp agency that Portland has several hundred of?
I just wanted to get you started on this very weird, very liberal city.
Probably one of the best indicators that this city on the river is not really concerned about the people that actually live and work and pay in this city is the inability of the city council to realize that when they agree with the state that all of our cars SHOULD be charged a tax on Every Mile We Drive, they really don't have to spend the money that has been coming in from gas taxes (for the roads) filling in potholes in those same roads!
Portland has been enjoying the status of being very Green. Don't get me wrong, the city deserves any accolades for this distinction:
Without any VALID evidence for man-caused global warming, they have (almost) taken the lead in their zeal for destroying jobs, morale and common sense!
to be continued...
June 15, 2009:
I think you can probably tell a lot about our leadership (the city council) by who has left their ranks in recent years.
Earl (the bow tie) Blumenaur was elected to replace Ron Wyden when he was elected to the Senate.
Earl, another of the "We're all going to burn up in a fiery blaze' crowd thought that it was appropriate to introduce legislation (FEDERAL, of course) that 'allows' employers to pay their employs $20.00 per month if they travel 'a substantial portion' of the trip to/from work on their bicycles! I guess even the government doesn't have a potential $1,000.00 per month for some of the employers, here so, again, without ANY VALID evidence of Man-Caused global warming.... OR is it that the nanny-stater wants everybody to ride their bike to work to get more exercise? hummmmm.
Let's talk more about the others on the city council when I get back.
Occupoopers!
Where are they, Now?
I waited a bit before I wanted to comment on the mess that these idiots did to the parks in downtown Portland. Yes, I saw the accounts all over the news, in Portland and many other places around the country. I wanted to see what they had to say. I did go downtown during the occupation because I wanted to see, for myself, what was going on.
Much of what was happening (was) not printable. That is not to say that there were people who had something to say. You could find those people in the news, however. I wondered, what with all of their comments about wanting free things 3this city would look like if they had their way.
That wasn't going to happen because they would not WANT to take over and actually run anything! They just wanted things to be different!
So, how would they have run things? We found out. When they were finally ousted from their illegal occupation, tons of gfeces and other trash was thrown all over the two parks they were at. That is what their world would look like! Interesting. No Thanx!
I did get a few comments about the whole episode and I share them with you, below:
From a member of the Occupy Portland crowd:
Occupy Portland Will Continue Despite Shutdown
(from) jirvin16
Occupy Portland is part of the Occupy Wall Street movement that started on September 17, 2011. Occupy Portland, Oregon began on October 6, 2011 in downtown Portland. I have been part of the movement with my labor group since October 27th, protesting day and night when I can. Unfortunately the protest and demonstration recently has been shut down for good by government officials.
Sam Adams, the mayor of Portland, gave us until November 13th at midnight to clear the park we are occupying. Apparently, the reason for this is the rising crime rates since the protests began. I have yet to witness any serious crimes since I have been a part of Occupy Portland. From what I can tell, every participant has been friendly, cooperative and respectful.
The next step is to protest at all banks. There are thousands of us that are part of Occupy Portland, Oregon, and we will continue to demonstrate our right
Another comment from someone who clearly does not have a concept about what America is all about:
Occupy Portland is not the opposite of capitalism
(from): tamarawilhite
Occupy Portland didn't go kitschy like Occupy Wall Street and start selling T-shirts and memorabilia. However, I can understand Occupy Wall Street doing this, since the funds helped pay for food, bottled water, sleeping bags and other things the encampment needed. Capitalism isn't the opposite of Occupy Portland's objective. Just as someone can sell many CDs and give the proceeds to charity or employee many people in their local community, Occupy Portland, if it wanted, could create art, offer services or simply help others in return for money to help support others in Occupy Portland.
In some regards, the drum circles were a form of the Occupy Wall Street ideal. Donations came in to the drummers, who then shared it with the whole camp to pay for food and other necessities.
I heard jokes that the only capitalism in Occupy Portland was the illegal kind - drugs, prostitution and selling stolen gear. I want to tell everyone that the stolen gear for sale was mostly taken by low life scum who stole from Occupy Portland protesters. We're all ages but mostly young, and the iPhones and PDAs we had were tempting targets for local thieves who then sold our gear to others. That isn't capitalism - it is theft.
There were some drug dealers who came around. And yes, pot is tolerated in Occupy Portland.
However, Occupy Portland is not a drug den, it is a protest. There are no Occupy Portland protesters performing prostitution, and we cannot stop a few bad apples from soliciting local women. It is similar to the rape allegations. With so many people here, we cannot police everyone nor do we want to run to the police when something bad happens. The safe zones for women were an effort to protect women who were afraid. And security patrols try to keep prostitutes and thieves out, but we cannot stop all of them.
Until Occupy Portland was destroyed, we were a community in the making. And if a few members made some money via capitalism and shared it with the majority to help support the community as a whole, it would have been a demonstration of our ideal of sharing the wealth as we advocate Wall Street should do. I'd be proud to set an example for what the 1% should be doing.
That is really a comment trying to find a cogent point or a thought. Why should comments meant to defend a lofty idea such as 'We are the 99%' have to talk about the presence of thieves, prostitutes and pot smoking while illegally camping out in a public space with definite rules and regulations about camping out in public spaces? I welcome your comments, as well.
How about this one? When someone can come up with this type of comment, with, I assume, a straight face, it indicates to me the state of our education system.
Occupy Portland - Socialism, Capitalism, Communism and Choice
(from): tamarawilhite
I watched the police come through in the middle of the night to clear out Occupy Portland. They intentionally did it in the middle of the night because that is when everyone in the camp would be sleeping, while many others had moved on to shelters or hotels to stay during the cold night. That made it easier to rip up tents and make arrests.
I wonder if many people realize that we are not seeking to overthrow capitalism or institute communism. The model for Occupy Portland and the Occupy movement is Europe, the model of democratic socialism.
Democratic socialism is a democratic system. It also involves a much stronger social safety net, from unemployment benefits to retirement plans. Socialized medicine is also part of many but not all socialist nations. The goal of socialism is greater equality of both opportunity and outcome. This is different than communism, where people live under the privileged 1% called the Communist Party. It was feudalism in the name of the people. Socialism permits capitalism, but with tighter constraints and greater redistribution of wealth from those who succeed in the capitalist system. Thus socialism is not contrary to capitalism - it is simply a closer supervision of capitalism that prevents its excesses and abuses. One has the choice to pursue an idea or a dream and to even make some money from it, just not to become obscenely wealthy.
Capitalism under any other system except capitalism is NOT Capitalism. Now, I understand they do NOT want Capitalism, anymore, however, do they honestly believe that a democratic socialism would allow them to NOT WORK for a long enough period of time to make the mess they did in my city?
Much of what was happening (was) not printable. That is not to say that there were people who had something to say. You could find those people in the news, however. I wondered, what with all of their comments about wanting free things 3this city would look like if they had their way.
That wasn't going to happen because they would not WANT to take over and actually run anything! They just wanted things to be different!
So, how would they have run things? We found out. When they were finally ousted from their illegal occupation, tons of gfeces and other trash was thrown all over the two parks they were at. That is what their world would look like! Interesting. No Thanx!
I did get a few comments about the whole episode and I share them with you, below:
From a member of the Occupy Portland crowd:
Occupy Portland Will Continue Despite Shutdown
(from) jirvin16
Occupy Portland is part of the Occupy Wall Street movement that started on September 17, 2011. Occupy Portland, Oregon began on October 6, 2011 in downtown Portland. I have been part of the movement with my labor group since October 27th, protesting day and night when I can. Unfortunately the protest and demonstration recently has been shut down for good by government officials.
Sam Adams, the mayor of Portland, gave us until November 13th at midnight to clear the park we are occupying. Apparently, the reason for this is the rising crime rates since the protests began. I have yet to witness any serious crimes since I have been a part of Occupy Portland. From what I can tell, every participant has been friendly, cooperative and respectful.
The next step is to protest at all banks. There are thousands of us that are part of Occupy Portland, Oregon, and we will continue to demonstrate our right
Another comment from someone who clearly does not have a concept about what America is all about:
Occupy Portland is not the opposite of capitalism
(from): tamarawilhite
Occupy Portland didn't go kitschy like Occupy Wall Street and start selling T-shirts and memorabilia. However, I can understand Occupy Wall Street doing this, since the funds helped pay for food, bottled water, sleeping bags and other things the encampment needed. Capitalism isn't the opposite of Occupy Portland's objective. Just as someone can sell many CDs and give the proceeds to charity or employee many people in their local community, Occupy Portland, if it wanted, could create art, offer services or simply help others in return for money to help support others in Occupy Portland.
In some regards, the drum circles were a form of the Occupy Wall Street ideal. Donations came in to the drummers, who then shared it with the whole camp to pay for food and other necessities.
I heard jokes that the only capitalism in Occupy Portland was the illegal kind - drugs, prostitution and selling stolen gear. I want to tell everyone that the stolen gear for sale was mostly taken by low life scum who stole from Occupy Portland protesters. We're all ages but mostly young, and the iPhones and PDAs we had were tempting targets for local thieves who then sold our gear to others. That isn't capitalism - it is theft.
There were some drug dealers who came around. And yes, pot is tolerated in Occupy Portland.
However, Occupy Portland is not a drug den, it is a protest. There are no Occupy Portland protesters performing prostitution, and we cannot stop a few bad apples from soliciting local women. It is similar to the rape allegations. With so many people here, we cannot police everyone nor do we want to run to the police when something bad happens. The safe zones for women were an effort to protect women who were afraid. And security patrols try to keep prostitutes and thieves out, but we cannot stop all of them.
Until Occupy Portland was destroyed, we were a community in the making. And if a few members made some money via capitalism and shared it with the majority to help support the community as a whole, it would have been a demonstration of our ideal of sharing the wealth as we advocate Wall Street should do. I'd be proud to set an example for what the 1% should be doing.
That is really a comment trying to find a cogent point or a thought. Why should comments meant to defend a lofty idea such as 'We are the 99%' have to talk about the presence of thieves, prostitutes and pot smoking while illegally camping out in a public space with definite rules and regulations about camping out in public spaces? I welcome your comments, as well.
How about this one? When someone can come up with this type of comment, with, I assume, a straight face, it indicates to me the state of our education system.
Occupy Portland - Socialism, Capitalism, Communism and Choice
(from): tamarawilhite
I watched the police come through in the middle of the night to clear out Occupy Portland. They intentionally did it in the middle of the night because that is when everyone in the camp would be sleeping, while many others had moved on to shelters or hotels to stay during the cold night. That made it easier to rip up tents and make arrests.
I wonder if many people realize that we are not seeking to overthrow capitalism or institute communism. The model for Occupy Portland and the Occupy movement is Europe, the model of democratic socialism.
Democratic socialism is a democratic system. It also involves a much stronger social safety net, from unemployment benefits to retirement plans. Socialized medicine is also part of many but not all socialist nations. The goal of socialism is greater equality of both opportunity and outcome. This is different than communism, where people live under the privileged 1% called the Communist Party. It was feudalism in the name of the people. Socialism permits capitalism, but with tighter constraints and greater redistribution of wealth from those who succeed in the capitalist system. Thus socialism is not contrary to capitalism - it is simply a closer supervision of capitalism that prevents its excesses and abuses. One has the choice to pursue an idea or a dream and to even make some money from it, just not to become obscenely wealthy.
Capitalism under any other system except capitalism is NOT Capitalism. Now, I understand they do NOT want Capitalism, anymore, however, do they honestly believe that a democratic socialism would allow them to NOT WORK for a long enough period of time to make the mess they did in my city?
What Say You?
Do you have a story about how WEIRD Portland, Oregon is?
Do you believe that Portland is still NOT weird enough? Let'
s hear about it! I will print all comments
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Heather Dominguez
Nov 25, 2011 @ 6:20 pm | delete
- Hi I am a weird portlander and I actually do a web series about the real Portlandia called Weird in P-Town. Its located at www.youtube.com/hkiersey
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mickey54
Apr 25, 2012 @ 7:54 pm | delete
- Hey Heather, sorry about not getting back to you! I will go and see that youtube video as soon as I can!
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PR_am
Jun 23, 2010 @ 9:16 pm | delete
- Is this my Portland? LOL! Portland like every other society in the world has its 2 sides to the coin depending on who's telling the story. Apart from the social vices you mentioned, which of course are found in other societies, i think Portland is a great city, in fact, one of America's best. You many want to revisit my lens on Portland Oregon to agree with me [url=http://www.squidoo.com/portland-things-to-do]Things To Do In Portland[/url]
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mickey54
Jun 24, 2010 @ 3:37 pm | delete
- PR_am ! No, I think you have me all wrong. Portland IS a GREAT City! My concerns are not with the City of Portland, but with the political agendas that do conspire to create havoc with the people! I am sure that you read the comments I made about the ILLEGAL activities that the city Council have been up to! Why would you want OUR city to be put up in front of the entire world as having some of the most illegal / corrupt city officals around? The lens you have about things to do in the city is Wonderful. I think you will find a comment I made there on the 23rd of june. There are all sorts of things to do, some of which you cannot do in many cities. So why do we want to destroy the good things we have to put up with politicians who do NOT have our true best interests at heart?
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tarrabyte
May 11, 2010 @ 11:21 am | delete
- Portland is a fun, energized city that loves to play. Residents see and acknowledge social issues and address them, rather than wishing them away. This is in some ways a very Canadian model. If you think Portland is too weird, stay away, but if you have a love of art, trees, self-expression and community involvement then do visit and decide for yourself. Encouraging employees to bike or take public transit is a good thing, unless you believe that every person needs one car to drive five miles and clog up highways. Portland is progressive. This articles actually suggests there is no evidence of climate change being caused by people. I would ask the author to please, please never visit Portland.
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Table of Contents
- Occupoopers!
- What Say You?
- Hometown Stats
- I wanted to give you a chance to sound off, first, before I continue...
- What does Google Have for Us, Today?
- The Street Re-Naming Game
- I want to hear from YOU!
- Digg: Frontpage News
- Google Blog Search
- Indeed Jobs
- Homer Simpson Quotes
- The Office Videos
- Sustainablog
- Lyrics Libs!
Hometown Stats
The population of 97201 is 25,065.
That's #3854 out of all 42,305 zip codes.
87% of the population is white, which is 13 points more than the national average.
The average household income in 97201 is $42,569, which is $12,871 more than the typical average.
This contributes to the average house being worth $305,900. When the survey was done in 2000, that represented a difference of 289% from the typical value.
Men make up 50% of the population, and the typical age in this part of OR is 36.6.
Stats about: Portland, OR
Population: 25,065Number of Households: 14,946
Average House Value: $305,900
Average Income per Household: $42,569
Elevation: 29 ft
Population Breakdown:
I wanted to give you a chance to sound off, first, before I continue...
What I intend to document on this lens is the never ending source of shame that is a Liberal agenda aimed at what has always been a very (physically) Beautiful place to live.
It is beginning to become a very ugly place.
I do not relish this task...
It is beginning to become a very ugly place.
I do not relish this task...
What does Google Have for Us, Today?
- Nurse in Chicago IDs woman found wandering in Oregon
- Law Enforcement agencies assisting in this investigation include the Oregon State Police, Oregon Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Customs and Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Social Security Administration, ...
- Ind. teen stuck in Mexico gets visa to return US
- INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- An attorney says a star student at an Indiana high school who was stuck in Mexico over an immigration technicality is returning home in time for her graduation. Indianapolis attorney Sarah Moshe (MOW'-shuh) says 18-year-old ...
- Judge dismisses charges against immigration agent
- On the Town highlights local entertainment activities from concerts at the Craterian, to plays, parades and fun runs, for the week and weekends in Medford and counties in Southern Oregon. There are limits to our natural resources and News 10's Green ...
The Street Re-Naming Game
Portland is Very Good at it!
Should you be considered a racist if you do NOT want your street re-named?
Of course not! I just don't want to have to spend all the money and time to get all of my addresses changed, my bank account, utilities, legal discription of my property.Etc., Etc.
LindaJM says:
Honestly, I've seen a lot of streets renamed in the SF Bay Area when I was there... and I didn't like it at all. I missed the old street names. Isn't there some better way for special interest groups to honor their heroes?
Yes, yes you are! Because you disagree with us & the city council
I want to hear from YOU!
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mickey54
Jun 26, 2009 @ 4:10 pm | in reply to LindaJM | delete
- Linda, Thank You for your kind words! I will be putting some photos up. The topics that I will be discussing, however, will NOT really lend itself to a, shall we say, pleasant view. Don't get me wrong, This is a VERY Beautiful place. I wish could take the place and move it some place else!
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LindaJM May 21, 2009 @ 12:25 am | delete
- Seems like the fascinating start of a good lens. I do hope you'll develop it more. Tell us more about Portland, and include photographs! Like I said, I've never been there except to drive through but I've always been curious about the city and would like to know more about it.
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Digg: Frontpage News
Google Blog Search
- Portland vs. New York: Contrasting ways to encourage healthful eating
- Which is the better motivational tool, the carrot or the stick? The question has been a staple of management books for decades and now provides fodder for hundreds of websites. New York City and Portland are offering us a new chapter to study.
Indeed Jobs
- Major Gifts Officer
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OMSI - Oregon Museum of Science & Industry - Portland, OR
The Major Gifts Officer partners with OMSI professional staff and volunteers to build and sustain a robust major and planned gifts program to help OMSI achieve... ... - Associate Merchandiser
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Adidas - Portland, OR
You share our passion for sports, fashion and an active lifestyle. You are ambitious, keen to learn and quick on the uptake. You also know how to communicate... ... - Natural Resource Specialist 3 (Horticulturist)
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Agriculture-Plant - , OR
The horticulturist in this position plans and conducts the survey, detection and identification of, and provides recommendations and direction for the exclusion... ...
Homer Simpson Quotes
The Office Videos
Sustainablog
Lyrics Libs!
Have a Go at Making Your Own Lyrics
by mickey54
Hello world! I have had the extreme pleasure of Living in the Greatest Country in the entire world! It is my mission to bring to olyur attention info... more »
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